


misericordes sicut pater

by catie_writes_things



Series: qui coepit in vobis opus bonum (Father Todd AU) [5]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Catholic, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Jason Todd is a Priest, Jason Todd wants you to go to confession, Mercy - Freeform, Religion, Spiritual
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-06 22:54:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12827853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catie_writes_things/pseuds/catie_writes_things
Summary: One week after his ordination, Jason Todd visits his father, and gives him a gift.





	misericordes sicut pater

On the Sunday afternoon one week after his ordination, Jason made time to visit the manor. He found Bruce in the cave, of course. He was in full costume, working at the computer, though he pushed back the cowl as Jason approached.

“I thought you’d be busy.” Bruce’s voice was as rough as his greeting.

“I am. But I heard confessions for the first time yesterday, and I...wanted to give this to you.”

Jason handed the small box to Bruce. He hadn’t wrapped it - that seemed too tawdry for a gift like this. Bruce removed his gloves, then lifted the cover, and read the handwritten note on the inside.

 _For my father,_  
_Who taught me about justice_  
_And about mercy_  
_\- Fr. Jason Todd_

Bruce looked at the note for a long moment, then set it aside. Gently, he removed the folded purple stole from the box.

“I never..thanked you,” Jason said, flexing his right hand nervously, “for not letting me…well.”

Bruce shook his head. “It was my fault that you...that we wound up there at all.”

“Still,” Jason insisted, “I would have done it, if you hadn’t stopped me. And it would have been wrong, and I would have regretted it. I did enough things that I regret. But you didn’t let me kill him.”

“I wanted you to do it. I wanted to _let_ you do it. He deserved it.”

“Right,” Jason agreed. “That’s why it was mercy.”

“That’s not...how I would have put it.”

“I know. But the truth is, I wouldn’t be who I am today if it weren’t for you. In a lot of ways.” He nodded at the stole in Bruce’s hands. “That wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

Bruce brushed his thumb over the celtic cross embroidered in gold on the stole. “It looks like the one on…”

“Yeah,” Jason confirmed, “I picked that out.”

Bruce didn’t look at him. “Why?” he asked softly.

“Because he sent me back to you.”

Bruce closed his eyes, but continued tracing the lines of the cross with his thumb. “I’m sorry that I…” One tear, then another escaped as his voice trailed off.

“You know I forgave you, years ago.”

“No,” Bruce said. He paused, opened his eyes, and swallowed. “At the mass...I wanted go to confession before, so I could receive Communion. But I...I couldn’t do it.”

Jason blinked in surprise. “Oh.”

Bruce’s tearful eyes remained downcast, a father ashamed before his son, and yet also a son afraid to ask forgiveness of his father. He stood perfectly still, in that way only Batman could, except for the slow, repetitive movement of one thumb.

Tentatively, with an authority that was still strange and new, Jason held out his hand. It was more than an offer, less than an order - a commandment given in love, which looked only for love in return.

Bruce placed the stole in his outstretched hand.

Jason pressed the golden symbol of death and resurrection to his lips, then settled the stole around his neck, as he silently prayed:

_Lord Jesus Christ, look with mercy upon thy servant, that I may minister thy gift of absolution to thy children, and that we may attain together the peace of thy kingdom and life everlasting._

_Amen._

Jason sat in one of the chairs by the computer, gesturing for Bruce to take the other. He chose to kneel on the ground instead, black cape fanning out around him.

Jason made the sign of the cross. Bruce copied him.

“I don’t know how to do this,” Bruce said, no longer fighting the tears.

Jason leaned forward and took his father’s hand. “That’s okay,” he said. “I’ll teach you.”

  



End file.
